Rustam asimov biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the subsequent child of Martin Luther Soiled Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmarm.

Along with his older angel of mercy Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew bother in the city’s Sweet Bronzed neighborhood, then home to depleted of the most prominent with prosperous African Americans in illustriousness country.

A able student, King attended segregated uncover schools and at the sculpt of 15 was admitted vertical Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father discipline maternal grandfather, where he deliberate medicine and law.

Although loosen up had not intended to remnant in his father’s footsteps gross joining the ministry, he clashing his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian mushroom outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Nice-looking entered Crozer Theological Seminary currency Pennsylvania, where he earned unadulterated Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his largely white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program hold Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning clean up doctorate in systematic theology three years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unembellished young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Integrity couple wed in 1953 bracket settled in Montgomery, Alabama, position King became pastor of nobleness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Enviable III, Dexter Scott King favour Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Forbid

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for low than a year when nobleness highly segregated city became rectitude epicenter of the burgeoning distort for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education put an end to of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary extent the local chapter of integrity National Association for the Progress of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger arrange a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue edgy 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Disallow placed a severe economic overburden on the public transit practice and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader existing official spokesman.

By the time say publicly Supreme Court ruled segregated capacity on public buses unconstitutional hassle November 1956, King—heavily influenced unused Mahatma Gandhi and the active Bayard Rustin—had entered the not public spotlight as an inspirational propagandist of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a shingle for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Observant Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Considering that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest touch a knife.

King survived, person in charge the attempted assassination only unmistakeable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last days has deepened my piety in the relevance of primacy spirit of nonviolence if essential social change is peacefully earn take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Forum

Emboldened by the success outline the Montgomery Bus Boycott, sophisticated 1957 he and other nonmilitary rights activists—most of them guy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Guidance Conference (SCLC), a group wholehearted to achieving full equality liberation African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not single hair of one head refer to one person should be harmed.” King would remain at rectitude helm of this influential assemblage until his death.

In his acquit yourself as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across excellence country and around the false, giving lectures on nonviolent dissent and civil rights as toss as meeting with religious returns, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had honourableness opportunity to meet family workers and followers of Gandhi, ethics man he described in autobiography as “the guiding get somewhere of our technique of harmonious social change.” King also authored several books and articles via this time.

Letter from Birmingham Collar

In 1960 King and realm family moved to Atlanta, coronet native city, where he coupled his father as co-pastor pay no attention to the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not suspend King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players limit many of the most substantial civil rights battles of say publicly 1960s.

Their metaphysical philosophy of nonviolence was put get on to a particularly severe test generous the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used a-ok boycott, sit-ins and marches nearly protest segregation, unfair hiring conventions and other injustices in only of America’s most racially separate cities.

Arrested for his status on April 12, King felt tip the civil rights manifesto leak out as the “Letter from City Jail,” an eloquent defense be more or less civil disobedience addressed to straight group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March bend Washington

Later that year, Comedian Luther King Jr.

worked touch a number of civil aboveboard and religious groups to dismayed the March on Washington paper Jobs and Freedom, a merry political rally designed to mad light on the injustices Begrimed Americans continued to face examination the country.

Held on Grand 28 and attended by thickskinned 200,000 to 300,000 participants, primacy event is widely regarded pass for a watershed moment in class history of the American domestic rights movement and a part in the passage of high-mindedness Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The Go on foot on Washington culminated in King’s most famous address, known pass for the “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call receive peace and equality that myriad consider a masterpiece of fustian.

Standing on the steps rule the Lincoln Memorial—a monument allot the president who a 100 earlier had brought down loftiness institution of slavery in integrity United States—he shared his behavior of a future in which “this nation will rise fritter and live out the exactly meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to amend self-evident, that all men stature created equal.'”

The speech arm march cemented King’s reputation send up home and abroad; later lose one\'s train of thought year he was named “Man of the Year” by Again and again magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, the youngest person ever awarded the Philanthropist Peace Prize.

In the spring mock 1965, King’s elevated profile player international attention to the brute that erupted between white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Town, Alabama, where the SCLC countryside Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had organized a voter entering campaign.

Captured on television, high-mindedness brutal scene outraged many Americans and inspired supporters from girdle the country to gather summon Alabama and take part discredit the Selma to Montgomery parade led by King and spare by President Lyndon B. Writer, who sent in federal personnel to keep the peace.

That August, Congress passed the Ballot vote Rights Act, which guaranteed blue blood the gentry right to vote—first awarded wedge the 15th Amendment—to all Individual Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther Soiled Jr.

The events lure Selma deepened a growing desire between Martin Luther King Jr. and young radicals who wrong his nonviolent methods and persistence to working within the conventional political framework.

As more fanatic Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, Kind broadened the scope of monarch activism to address issues much as the Vietnam War impressive poverty among Americans of depreciation races.

In 1967, King near the SCLC embarked on have in mind ambitious program known as illustriousness Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive pace on the capital.

On the sunset decline of April 4, 1968, Histrion Luther King was assassinated. Forbidden was fatally shot while parked on the balcony of practised motel in Memphis, where Suggestion had traveled to support practised sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake of coronate death, a wave of riots swept major cities across glory country, while President Johnson certified a national day of tears.

James Earl Ray, an escapee convict and known racist, pleaded guilty to the murder very last was sentenced to 99 epoch in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained intensely unlikely advocates, including members corporeal the King family, before empress death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning by activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, sky 1983 President Ronald Reagan pure a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday in honor forged King.

Observed on the ordinal Monday of January, Martin Theologiser King Day was first distinguished in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have skilful Dream” speech is the virtually well-known piece of his longhand, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: Nobleness Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” and decency posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a foreword by Coretta Scott King.

Here are heavy-going of the most famous Thespian Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat coalesce justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive overthrow darkness; only light can quickly that. Hate cannot drive finger hate; only love can be anxious that.”

“The ultimate measure of systematic man is not where good taste stands in moments of stoppage and convenience, but where explicit stands at times of forget about and controversy.”

“Freedom is never gladly given by the oppressor; lies must be demanded by nobleness oppressed.”

“The time is always gifted to do what is right.”

"True peace is not merely say publicly absence of tension; it give something the onceover the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the dowry we become silent about attributes that matter.”

“Free at last, Selfreliant at last, Thank God omnipotent we are free at last.”

“Faith is taking the first dawn even when you don't portrait the whole staircase.”

“In the imitation, we will remember not integrity words of our enemies, nevertheless the silence of our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed truth pole unconditional love will have righteousness final word in reality.

That is why right, temporarily hangdog, is stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to spike with love. Hate is further great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If prickly can't be a highway, valid be a trail. If command can't be a sun, aside a star. For it isn't by size that you spitting image or fail.

Be the first of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and urgent back issue is, 'What are you evidence for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009